Into the Shadows
by blueluigi
Summary: Kelli Bell, a 14 year old homeless girl from Unova, meets Ash and Co. and ends up on a a life changing journey.
1. Going Home

I pulled Ashley the Oshawott even closer to me as the freezing November wind rushed at us through the trees. It was getting dark, and the ground was damp from the recent rain. At that point in my life, I was just about as hopeless as a person could get. I, Kelli Bell, was living all alone with my Oshawott on the roads and trails of Unova. A person might think that it wouldn't be so bad. No one telling you what to do, and you could just bring a sleeping bag and live off of berries. It really wasn't that easy though, especially since I had no belongings to call my own except for the clothes on my back, and all the berries that I lived off of were dead because of the cold. If all that didn't sound bad, then I don't know what would. All that I could do for Ashley and myself was stare out at Route 3 and hope that a kind traveler would come by and help us. Some food would have been nice. Yes, that would have been very nice. But no one had come by for at least six months, so I didn't see much hope. Deciding not to worry about that major problem, I set my heart on simply asking the next person to pass for some food. And so I waited. I waited for… well, minutes. But let me tell you that they were probably the longest minutes of my entire 14 year life. Even after that, I was still surprised to hear the nearby footsteps of a traveler. I peeked out from behind my tree and saw that there wasn't just one of them but two, no three! By the looks of them, I could tell that they were trainers about my age. As they got closer and closer, I began to get more and more excited. I wouldn't have to eat leaves and random plants anymore! At least for a while anyway. When the group was no more than a couple feet in front of me, I crawled out and spoke for the first time in a very long while, "Hello, could all of you spare me some food, please? Ashley and I have been living out here for quite a while. Oh, and my name's Kelli," At the sound of her name, Ashley came out of the shadows and into the fading light. She appeared thinner and paler than ever before.

"Osha?" she questioned shyly. As I stared into the eyes of the three trainers, I saw that they were mainly filled with shock. The shock of seeing a dirty, starving girl with her Oshawott living all alone in the forest. The shock of seeing her once beautiful blue hair tangled and covered in dirt, and her face with the pleading green eyes. The shock of knowing that she knows that any day could be her last.

"Of course. We have more than enough," one of the trainers said, "You can come with us and we'll set up camp." I stood up, both happy and surprised at this offer. It was then when I started to realize some details about these people. The trainer who had spoken was a boy slightly taller than me. A Pansage stood next to him.

"Aww Cilan! Do we really have to share?" My thoughts were interrupted by another trainer. This was another boy who was wearing a strange hat and carrying a Pokémon that I had never seen before.

"Ash, you are such a kid! Didn't anyone ever tell you about helping the poor?" Then, a girl with tall purple hair spoke. She was obviously younger than the others. I also noticed an Axew quite at home on her head.

"I don't want to be a problem. I'll go if you don't have enough for me," I said, disappointed. They looked like such nice people, but I truly didn't want to make things difficult for them.

"No, please don't go!" the first trainer said just as I turned my back. I turned back around slowly. "You can stay with us for…" he was cut off though by the trainer with the hat.

"But she doesn't deserve our help!" he turned to me. "Just look at your poor Oshawott! It looks terrible! I bet you're starving it and keeping all the food for yourself! You're a terrible trainer!" He had no idea just how untrue that was. I always gave half of my food to Ashley, sometimes even more. There were even same days when I would give her all of my food, which might have been everything I would get for days. I had done everything in my power for Ashley, and he dared to call me a terrible trainer! But then again, if I had really cared about her, then maybe we wouldn't have been in that mess. Just the thought made me want to cry. Maybe I really had failed as a trainer. I ran off into the thicker part of the forest and sat beside a tree, trying to pull myself together. It was there that I decided what I wanted to do. It was just so obvious to me that I wasn't wanted or cared about, but the thought of leaving this place, no matter how terrible it was, still almost made me think twice about my decision.

"Ashley," I called. She came to my side obediently, just like always. "Ashley, I just want you to know that I love you and care about you a lot, and I'm going to miss you. But you have to go with them. Those trainers will take good care of you, I promise," She gave me a questioning look. "Look, I just have to go, ok? No one wants me anymore! No one even cares. Do you want to spend the rest of your life like this? I know I don't. So just trust me and let me go!" I was really trying to stay strong for Ashley, but I have to admit to crying a little as I gave her one last hug and stood up. In truth, I felt sorry for her. She had no idea what I was about to do. I just knew that she would be better off without me. "Now you go over to the nice trainers, ok? Just remember that I'll always love you, and that this will be best for you,"

"Oshawott?" Ashley asked.

"Just go and meet them. Give them a chance. Please, do it for me!" I was shaking as I bent down to pet her head before turning her in the right direction. She walked away without another sound. It was just like her to do that. Ashley had always done what she was told without question. She even left me when I told her to, and that's what I respected so much about her. But I had no more second thoughts as I walked over to the spot where I kept the knife. I dug through the wet leaves until I found the sharpened rock that I kept for defending myself. Slowly, very slowly, I walked to a nice clear spot between the trees. It was a worthy place for the job, in my opinion. I raised my left arm and without thinking stabbed the point into myself. Not in the right place, I soon learned. I felt the terrible pain, but I lifted my arm another time. This time though, I looked down at the ground. Both the leaves and the front of my green rag of a dress were turning a bright red. "This world will be so much better without me," I whispered to myself, "Once a star, but now just another homeless girl. I hate this, I really do. I hate this whole, cruel world. Now it's time to finish what I've started, or rather what my father started. But I'm going home now. Home to Mother, and soon probably Ashley. It's time to end this. It's over," As I said those last words, the point entered my skin one, two, then three more times before I fell to my knees. The last thing I saw was the trainer with the Pansage finding me there on the ground, rock in hand. "It's over," I whispered one last time so they could hear it, "I'm going home."


	2. Who Did It?

**A/N—Hi! Thanks so much everyone for reading my story! Well, I just thought I'd warn you that the point of view in this chapter is different… Yeah, I might do that sometimes. Well, I know you'll still like it!**

"You know Ash? Sometimes I just don't know what I'm going to do with you!" Iris yelled for the whole forest to hear, "It's like you never learn!"

"Well she had it coming! You know she did!" Ash argued back. On and on they went until Cilan finally came back. Then they really got going. Seeing the body that his friend was dragging along, Ash cried, "I DIDN'T DO IT!"

"YOU WOULDN'T!" Iris screamed as she jumped on Ash's back.

"I DIDN'T!"

"LIAR!" By that point, Ash had fallen over and was in a full out fight with Iris.

"You two…" Cilan tried to talk to them, but they paid no attention, as expected.

"Ow! Let me go!" The struggle was only stopped when Iris twisted Ash's arm, effectively making him listen.

"All right," she said, dropping his arm. But that time it was Cilan who interrupted.

"Iris, Ash didn't do this," he said quietly. All was quiet for a few moments while the three trainers stared at each other. "She did it to herself."


	3. Alive

It was dark. I was alone. The black world swallowed my last moments of feeling, thinking, before sliding into the unknown.

"Mother?" I called out, hours later. "Mother, I'm home!" When she died, I told her that I would come for her. I told her that I wanted to be with her. And then, I was there. I was wherever dead people went. Because I was dead. At least, that's how I had planned it. I soon learned that I had failed. How did I know? The blackness was lifting. Slowly, very slowly, it faded into a thick, grey fog. I became aware of whispers coming from all around me. I also recognized pain. Sharp and direct, it made me want to sit up from my current position and lie down forever at the same time. Those voices hit me from all sides. _"Alive. Alive. Alive."_ They echoed over and over again. _"Alive. Alive. Alive."_ I couldn't take it anymore. _"Alive. Alive. Alive."_ I fought through the fog and opened my eyes. "Kill me. Please, I can't do this anymore. I want to go home," I managed to whisper. Only then did I realize the expressions on their faces. The girl was crying, and the boys didn't look too far from that state either. "What he said," I pointed up to the boy with the hat, "was right. I'm a terrible trainer and an even worse person. You would be doing the world a favor by finishing me off. I won't last long this way anyway,"

"Hey you know, I really am sorry. What I said was wrong. I judged you without even knowing who you were. I'm sure you were doing your best to provide for you and your Oshawott," the hat boy said, obviously having had a major attitude adjustment since earlier that day. His mistake was trying to lighten things up with the joke that changed everything. "Besides, it's not like you murdered Kelli Bell or anything!" he laughed. What he didn't see was the look of fear that entered my eyes as he said that because I was of course, not dead. That's right. At that time, the whole world thought that I was dead. Even just the memories of that night, the night when I, the Driftveil City gym leader and internationally known singing star, was robbed and almost killed by Team Rocket, scared me badly.

"She's not dead," I whispered for myself to hear.

"What?" the hat boy turned my way. "Ummm… could you repeat that?" I was doomed.

"She's… she's not dead," I said uncertainly but a bit louder. The other two trainers heard and turned my way.

"That's impossible. She's been missing for three years." the girl said, shocked, "Besides, how could anyone know? She's a mystery!"

"It's believed that Team Rocket burned her alive, but there wasn't enough evidence left to really prove anything," the green haired trainer proclaimed.

"Pan, pan!" Even the Pansage agreed.

"Yeah! I remember hearing about that! There was nothing left of her or her Oshawott, Ashley! Wait, Ashley?" Little did the trainers know that they were teaching me something that I knew first. They didn't know that I was the one who started the whole mess in the first place. But then the hat boy had to get curious. To tell the truth, I was scared. Scared that they would figure me out, that they would make a big deal out of me. I couldn't risk a comeback after three years. The world thought I was dead, and I intended to keep it that way, if I didn't kill myself first. If those people figured out who I was, it would mean certain death, or so I thought. In reality, what I was actually scared of wasn't death. It was trusting those strangers with my life. A pause filled the tent. The dry air got colder. "Isn't _your_ name Kelli?"

"Yes. Kelli Bell."


	4. Questions

I just hated that moment. Hated it with all my being. I knew that would happen, and I knew they wouldn't believe a word I said after that. _"And now they're going to laugh." _I mentally sighed. It was hopeless. _"Three, two, one…"_

"You expect us to believe that?" I knew it. Hat Boy laughed like it was the world's biggest joke. "You, you call yourself Kelli Bell? At least she was cute!" Whatever. So what I looked different! Three years out in the forest could do that to a person. But of course, he didn't know.

"Cut it out, Hat Boy, before I cut you out myself," I growled.

"Awww! You expect me to feel sorry for you, don't you? Poor, fake Kelli and her dead mother. You just don't have anyone to take care of you, because that's what you need, isn't it?" The evil grin on his face was poisonous. How dare he insult me! I did _not_ need anyone to take care of me! And my mother… But my anger easily overpowered the memories, and I shot up from my laying down position.

"You…" I threw myself at Hat Boy, razor sharp nails ready to attack. But the other trainers grabbed my arms, holding me back. "Let me go!" I screamed, trying to get away. I pulled myself forward; bending over from the effort (I didn't expect them to stand a chance against me!), when a sharp pain exploded…everywhere. It was so much worse than anything I had ever felt before. I fell on my back and tried not to scream anymore, but it was hard. That was when I looked down at the front of my torn and faded green dress for the first time, which was quickly turning into more hole than dress. I noticed a giant, new hole with bright red edges, the kind that could make a person run away at the first sight of it. Looking at the red underneath, I could tell that someone had tried to soak up all the blood. It burned at the lightest touch. _"Why didn't that kill me? Why did you save me?"_ There were so many "whys". "What happened after…this?" I quietly asked the group, which was significantly calmer. "Tell me." I realized that I was unable to speak above a whisper. Losing all that blood was finally catching up to me. It was harder to move as well, so I just stayed there, open to attack in the middle of the tent. But at the same time, I didn't want everyone to think I was weak. _"Oh well,"_ I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down as I half-listened to the story. Or did they even tell it? I was pretty sure I heard a "We'll tell her in the morning" whispered from not too far away. I was too tired after everything that had happened in the past couple of hours. Besides, it seemed to be late at night, anyway, and I just didn't want to think about it. Not yet at least. I eventually fell asleep to three voices slowly getting softer and fading into the darkness around me.


End file.
